Today, I spent hours trying to save the life of a precious pit bull puppy deemed "Zod." My boyfriend texted me last night to tell me he still wasn't doing good, and that he didn't know if he'd make it through the night. He did, but just barely.

Zod's story

Zod was born about a month ago to a mother dog who has had so many litters she finally refused to breed anymore or nurse the new litter. This wasn't surprising due to the conditions she lived in; her owner had to be begged by his mother to buy the dogs or the puppies food when they ran out. Her puppies usually went for $50 each, several weeks before any reputable breeder would sell them, sick, and sometimes with cuts. When the puppy miller, 17 year old Nicholas, saw the problem with the mother dog - he immediately acted. He took the puppies and the mother dog to his cousin's house and dropped them off with the family. Two of the puppies were on the verge of dying already. He sold the few that "looked" healthy and left the two with the cousin family, along with the mother, saying she was "Useless and stupid" now. The white puppy never had a chance. He died the first night and was buried in the backyard, a stone as the only remembrance. Zod held out, trying to survive though the odds were against him.

Zod lasted through Christmas plus two days. He was lethargic, unresponsive to stimuli. He squaked like a bird. December 26 he spent the entire night being coddled by Michael. He wouldn't eat, clamping his mouth shut with strong pitbull jaws. He pushed any attempt to feed him away with his tongue. His will to survive seemed to be dwindling.

December 27 he spent trying to be rescued while death stood in the doorway. Zod's eyes wouldn't open, his only sounds were like a dying bird, and his body temperature was way too low. He cuddled in bed with Michael the human radiator until he was warm. As he warmed, he opened his eyes and moved to cuddle closer. When I was satisfied that he was warm enough, it was time to eat. He was a ragdoll when I held him. I had held kittens like this, but never a puppy. Puppies were supposed to be lively. Zod wouldn't drink from a dish, and wet dog food had not worked before. It was time for puppy milk. He was the runt of the litter and hadn't spent much time nursing anyway, so he wasn't use to the idea. It took him a while to get a hang of swallowing but once he did, he wanted more. It was looking promising as he swallowed and started to search for it when it wasn't in his mouth. I thought he might need a little break, since this was the first time he had eaten in a while. I put him down on the floor happily, thinking how strong a bond this would create between Zod, Michael, and I. And how this was a miracle dog.

It seems that as soon as his stomach was full and he was no longer in pain, Zod was comfortable enough to let death take him. He left this world after the best we could do for him, and all I can say is that I'm glad he left it in the presence of the two people in the world who cared the most for him.

Zod has his own stone in the backyard now, a marker for the memory of a precious puppy who just didn't make it.

(FYI: I got the info about the puppy miller after Zod died. The cousin family was told the puppies were 7 weeks old (not possible, even if I'm not familiar with Pitbulls), and as much as I know all of you are going to say "take them to the vet," until you have lived as below the poverty line as this family, you can't understand when I say we couldn't. And as someone is bout to say they shouldn't have taken the dogs if they couldn't take them to the vet - the other option was leave them with Nicholas, the very person who has put so many puppies in this situation already. Also, the puppy miller's name has been changed and Michael is my boyfriend. If anyone has any information on how to turn someone in for this type of thing, I'm working on getting his address.)

unfortunately I doubt you can do anything even if you get his address - someone will have to testify to what he did and doubt the mother will do it; after all from what you state the mother allowed this to happen under her roof by her minor child.

Does he have any other dogs? From what you say he took the puppies and the mother to his cousin. I am not in the law enforcement but IMHO how can one prove he did this if the evidence is gone and the only one who can testify that he did it would be the mother of a minor child which, again IMHO, is just as guilty. How can the cousin prove he did it - he can just say he found those dogs and let the cousin care for them.

He does have more dogs. He currently has another mother that is pregnant with a litter. From what I've heard, he has a $500 male dog that he's breeding with all the females, and its the only one he takes care of good and feeds regularly.

I agree that his mother is an enabler. As much as I'd love to throw him in jail or something - I'd be happy for someone to just go look at the dogs n make sure they're all okay. And if they're not, wouldn't that be proof enough?

I think Claudia is right. Nicolas got rid of the evidence. Mom and pups and how can you prove he owns/owned them? Look up your local, county and state laws on selling puppies. Most states have laws on what age they can be sold. If you know someone that he sold one of the other pups to they can probably make a complaint against him if they have proof he sold them the pup. Most local/county or states have laws on animal/pet care. You could make a complaint if you feel that their is abuse/lack of care to the animal control. They could then investigate it if they choose to. The laws are usually there but it is hard to get these people prosecuted. It takes a lot of money to prosecute and most DA's won't do it unless they can really prove it. One complaint may not do much but it will at least put Nicolas on Animal Controls Radar.

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